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Identifying Some 1970s Supernatural TV Dramas (UK)

I will not watch that, it's dark here, and even tho I have no stairs, it still will be spooky :p I will watch it tomorrow
 
Damnit! The one time I could actually be helpful, you buggers have all got there before me! I knew Genesis and Catastrophe because I first read it years and years ago.

Sapphire and Steel definitely stands the test of time; I've been watching it recently and it's wonderful.
 
Sapphire and Steel definitely stands the test of time; I've been watching it recently and it's wonderful.

There's a great in-depth interview with David and Joanna in the latest TV Years magazine, the science fiction special. They're both very proud of the programme, I'm happy to read, though Joanna thought the final episode a letdown because it was never resolved (the TV company lost its ITV franchise, so the series ended there).
 

I remember only about 20 seconds of Ace of Wands when some-one (hypnotised ?) was teetering on a roadside kerb stone but from his perspective he was on the edge of a high roof top. But the theme tune has remained unforgettable.
 
I remember only about 20 seconds of Ace of Wands when some-one (hypnotised ?) was teetering on a roadside kerb stone but from his perspective he was on the edge of a high roof top. But the theme tune has remained unforgettable.
I think that story was called Peacock Pie
 
Tarry Dan, Tarry Dan, Scarey Old Spooky Man, Catch me if you can... (Port Isaac, Cornwall). BBC May 1st 1978 on late as I remember.

 
Did Penda's Fen have a neighbourhood couple visited by the central character? and the female partner digging in the garden and finding a baby skeleton?

:dunno:
Penda's Fen – now that's a programme you shouldn't watch when you're 11 years old – haven't seen it since then (1974) though as it's now available on YouTube I may give it a go...
 
I remember liking Ace of Wands from the 70’s with the lead actor being called Tarot. It probably kickstarted my interaction with the cards themselves.

Treated myself to the DVD box set a few years ago. The episodes range from excellent ("Peacock Pie") to a bit cringeworthy. Overall worth a look though.
A shame that, rather like some classic Doctor Who, several episode master tapes were wiped and are gone forever.
 
it's now available on YouTube I may give it a go...

In a manner of speaking, it has been on Youtube for some years. There was once a version from a rough video source, which became nearly unwatchable in the concluding minutes. It was, at least, complete and played at the correct speed.

Other versions were speeded-up or window-boxed for maximum viewing discomfort. The only one I could find today is both!

The BFI have put it out on both DVD and BluRay for no very great expense. :comphit:
 
The Penda's Fen Blu-ray is well worth it, it looks probably better than it did when it was first broadcast.
 
The episodes of Sapphire & Steel with the faceless man utterly terrified me as a child, and I only saw the trailer! Nightmares for weeks. Even more than the Chewits advert monster, I had to hide in the kitchen for them...
 
In the last episode of Sapphire and Steel were they not trapped in a gas station? prolly the transdimensional one :p
And I remember Choccie, and one called Skye, or was that the name of the character?
weird begining lol
 
Chocky was the name of a novel by John Wyndham. Guess they made a TV series of it.
 
Chocky was the name of a novel by John Wyndham. Guess they made a TV series of it.

Yes, it was based on Wyndham - they made three series out of it. It wasn't 1970s, though, it was 1980s.
 
....Trying to flesh out the hitler one...the unreliable images in my mind are that it was a short play of 30 or 60 minutes. It largely centred on a white moustachioed angry austrian/german gentleman, and a woman..his wife presumably...due to give birth. If it was historically accurate then the setting would be a small austrian town but if i didn't know that my memory would have embellished it as a snowed in alpine guest house. Whether there was a supernatural element to the tale - such as a prophecy or curse - i don't know, other than it had the Tales Of The Unexpected twist/revelation about the child's name. I associate it with a supernatural drama series primarily because i have a connection in my mind to an earlier/later episode having the werewolf theme.

Relentlessly determined to track this down - rang my bell as well - surely this is our source:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesis_and_Catastrophe:_A_True_Story

It actually was a Tales of the Unexpected (Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected), they dropped the Roald Dahl bit after they ran out of his stories. As comfortably numb pointed out this was 'Genesis and Catastrophe' by a Roald Dahl. It was made by Anglia TV, the series was filmed around Norwich and Norfolk, you'd occasionally run across a film crew with a famous thesp filming a scene, in the 70 - 80s.
 
I was terrified of the BBC paranormal recreation/discussion show Leap in the Dark. I had never seen it. There was a scary article in the Radio Times about it and that, combined with a very 1970s title slide, suggested that it was the most horrifying thing ever committed to videotape. Still haven't seen it, thinking on the subject.

I suspect I might have been mistaken.
 
Hi all-
This is actually my first post here - and it was this very thread that brought me to this forum. I'm a lover of all things odd and eerie and have a particular fondness for UK TV supernatural dramas from the 70s and 80s. There's just something extra unsettling about their atmosphere can't I cant place... or perhaps its because they bring back memories of childhood, when things still had the power to TRULY terrify you. (The Tales From the Unexpected theme still gives me goosebumps).
There's a show of this ilk that I've been searching for what feels like forever, with no luck. But the people on this thread really seem to know their stuff so I'm hoping that maybe someone can help me out here, because I'd LOVE to see this one again. I remember it as being absolutely terrifying, and if it even lives up to a fraction of what I remember... it should be something of a classic.
It was British and shown on UK TV, sometime in the early to mid 80s I should think. I'm not sure if it was a standalone made-for-TV thing or part of an anthology series... but the atmosphere and filming style was very similar to those 'Ghost Story For Christmas' type shows, although this one had a contemporary setting. I thought it might have been an episode of the later season of Hammer House... but Ive watched all of them now, and have drawn a blank.
I was born in 78, and am pretty sure I saw this when I was between 7-10 years old. The story followed a young couple who got a gig caretaking a school that I think was on an island... or at least was very desolate. I remember lots of eerie fog, etc. For whatever reason, the school was closed up and they were the only ones there. There may have been an old custodian as well, a vaguely remember some creepy older character being involved.
One of the pair (I believe the wife) starts seeing a ghostly young girl around the school, and the husband doesn't believe her. There's some kind of ghost story related to the place, and the husband puts it down to her nerves and imagination, and this starts to put a strain on their relationship.
Although I could be getting some story details fuzzy, the thing I remember with absolute clarity is the terrifying ending: the couple start getting hot and heavy in the school, and this culminates in the husband tying the wife up (yeah, i probably shouldnt have been watching this give the fact I was so young, lol) using (I think) a skipping rope. (side note - If anyone here went to a British school, you'll remember the rows of coathanger we used to have outside the classrooms in some older schools... the low bench type, with metal hangers for coats and bags on top, right? Well, this is what he ties her to.)
So, the husband binds the wife's wrists with the rope to the metal hangers, so she's left facing away from him... and things are getting a bit hot and heavy when - for some reason - he is compelled to run off for a moment. (maybe he hears something and goes to check. Something strange and unepexted happens, anyway). This leaves the wife tied up and freaking out, when - wouldn't you know it - the ghostly young girl appears, and now she's got a sickle in her hand. While the woman begs her to stop, the girl - in proper 'Children of the Corn' style - proceeds to hack the young woman to bits while she screams helplessly.
I think meanwhile, the husband meets some equally terrible fate and although he can hear her screams, he cannot help her and this is pretty much the end. In fact, now I 6hink about it there may have been a frozen lake involved, and he perhaps goes through the ice and drowns while trying to rescue a stuck child who is actually a ghost.
What I do know is that this bloody show freaked me out and gave me severe nightmares at the time. Aside from the vague timeframe, I was in the north west of England if perhaps this might have been some kind of regional production although I doubt it. If anybody has any ideas, I'd love to track this down and see it again. Shows I've thought it might be, but it has turned out NOT to be include A Ghost Story At Christmas, The Frighteners, Hammer House of Horror / Mystery and Suspense, Supernatural, etc.
Can anybody help a nostalgic horror movie fan out? Thanks in advance for any clues!
 
It doesn't ring any bells, sorry.
 
An episode of Worlds Beyond, maybe?
IMDB page

1980s horror anthology TV show. Alas, a decent episode guide doesn't seem to be out there.
 
An episode of Worlds Beyond, maybe?
IMDB page

1980s horror anthology TV show. Alas, a decent episode guide doesn't seem to be out there.
Thanks for the tip. I checked out IMDb and it's a great cast list - Darran McGavin and Karen Black - wow! I'll check it out on Youtube tonight, apparently, the series has been uploaded... here's hoping. In the meantime, if anyone else has suggestions I'm all ears...
 
Two series that I remember fondly were 'Menace' and 'Supernatural'. Can't recall many details but what I do know is that they were both original and terrifying.

One featured a hardened criminal, a McVicar type, who found a way to astrally project and cause mischief. When he was 'away' his body appeared dead so eventually he was found apparently deceased...

Another was called 'Boys and Girls Come Out To Play' and was about a street which had the ghosts of Victorian children playing in it at night.

I'd watch all those again.
 
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